From Fear to Freedom

Meet Jennifer Davis, dedicated Mindset Mastery Honors Graduate, whose journey exemplifies courage and growth. Jennifer faced significant challenges due to her anxiety, but through the course, transformed her fears into a source of strength. Her experiences highlight how determination and a positive mindset can lead to a remarkable transformation. Her breakthroughs and growth have left her with the desire to share these tools with others, and I am thrilled that she is currently on the Facilitator Track to become a certified Rare Faith Programs Facilitator.

Manifesting the Small: New Chairs for the Loft

Jennifer’s Phase 1 experiment started with a simple wish about the card table in her loft:

“I made an inconsequential goal 9/6 involving the card table in our loft.

“Every time I walked by that table and saw the two chairs that are there, one that’s unsafe to sit in and another one that’s a computer chair that isn’t comfortable for anyone to sit in… It just makes me a little, sad.

“So I thought, it’d be really nice to have four matching chairs for this table, so that when I walk by it would just give me a good feeling, that everything in the room was as it should be. That we could actually sit at the table and play a game or something. 😃 Didn’t really matter either way if it happened. I just threw it out into the universe:

“I kept it in the back of my mind periodically, Even stopped by Goodwill on a whim to see if maybe they had my chairs, they didn’t, but it was okay and I moved on knowing that somewhere, they were out there.

“Last Saturday, I got on Facebook, which I don’t really do very often anymore and saw that someone in my church had posted something on one of our Facebook pages:
“And for a split second, I thought, is this going to be about my chairs? And then I let it go. Imagine my surprise when I looked at the post and saw four matching chairs that were exactly what I was looking for, free to whoever wanted them!!! Oh my goodness!! I messaged her right away and said yes! Please please please!
“So I didn’t really realize it at the time, until they dropped it off, but my four awesome chairs also came with four more matching chairs and a table!!! I feel that it was unseen forces/help/God letting me know that my mismatch dining room table and chairs also needed an upgrade! 🥹🥰 I am overcome with joy and thanks for this beautiful gift from a dear friend.
“You honestly never know when something you have to give, is the answer to someone else’s prayers.🥹💗

“Leslie says it’s okay to hope for things and add ‘all this or something better’ to your goal statement, fully accepting that God’s power and imagination far exceeds the imagination of my puny little brain. 😁

In Jennifer’s case, that’s exactly what happened. She saw this experience as a sign of God’s generosity, teaching her that when we put our desires out there with faith, God often has more in store for us than we can imagine.

Achieving the Big: Conquering Fear on the Road

With her newfound belief and courage, Jennifer took on a more significant goal in Phase 2: buying AND driving a new car.

Due to her eyesight and anxiety issues, driving had always been challenging, but she was determined to overcome it.

She experienced multiple terror barrier breakthroughs during the course, especially when it came to buying the car—a fear she had harbored for over 30 years. By learning to detach from panic and approach situations with a calm, factual mindset, she was able to negotiate lower interest rates and successfully purchase one. 

“Letting situations just be and not attaching emotion to them, where normally panic would be inserted, was extremely hard at first but quickly became much much easier to deal with…I do believe that the timing had to be now for doing this hard thing. I am very very grateful for the now and that I have multiple tools in my tool belt for battling whatever terror barriers I have rooted deep in my subconscious.”

Jennifer’s story is a powerful example of how perseverance and the right mindset can help overcome even lifelong fears.

Jennifer explained:

“Initially, it was painfully hard to convince my subconscious programming that this new car was not going to kill me and that driving it would be an enjoyable experience. I have been absolutely amazed at the ease in which I’ve been able to convince my mind to relax just by speaking truth to it. I’ve had to reject the physical input my body was trying to give me in the form of shaking and keep telling myself ‘I am calm and relaxed while I am driving’ over and over and over.”

Jennifer’s experience with driving her new car illustrates how to reject physical anxiety signals and consciously tell yourself a different story. Despite her body reacting with shaking and fear, she repeatedly told herself, “I am calm and relaxed while I am driving.” By doing this, she gradually rewired her brain to believe in her calmness, transforming what once terrified her into an empowering experience.

Jennifer’s relentless positive self-talk, in her words,

“Felt like a terror barrier on steroids.”

Despite this, she gradually transformed her driving experience. What once filled her with dread became a source of empowerment, and Jennifer found herself driving with a newfound sense of peace and control.

Overcoming Fears and Embracing Confidence

Jennifer’s struggle with driving wasn’t just about the act itself; it was about facing her fears head-on. After years of avoiding driving due to anxiety, she used the tools from the course to confront her fears directly. She shared a portion of what she had written in her course workbook:

“I want to be calm and relaxed while driving. Anxiety be gone! I will speak truth to myself as I drive and write about what happens in my journal:

’11/12/2023 – I am happy and grateful I faced my driving fears and spoke truths to myself the whole time.'”

Not long after this, Jennifer attempted to get a ride to urgent care due to not feeling well, but when that fell through, she realized it was time to confront her driving fears head-on, driving her new car alone for the first time. Here is what happened, in her own words,

“When I got in my car, I decided that this was going to be a good experience. I was going to be fine. I would speak truth to myself the entire time. The whole drive over to urgent care, I spoke out loud ‘I can be calm and relaxed while driving’. My drive there was calm and uneventful, however I observed that my body was shaking a little when I turned off my car. 

“For the drive home, I knew I could do better, so I changed my Mantra to ‘I AM calm and relaxed while I’m driving’. This little change of ‘can’ to ‘am’ made a huge difference! I just kept saying it all the way home and when I got out of my car – No body shaking! The new programming has begun! I’m so excited for my future driving experiences. Things will not be the same, they will be better, improved, blessed!”

The Power of Word Choice

Jennifer’s experience is an excellent example of one of the principles taught during Mindset Mastery: the power of word choice in vision or goal statements. The difference between using the mantra “I can” versus “I am” lies in the level of belief and immediacy. “I can” suggests potential and possibility, but it still leaves room for doubt, as it implies something that might happen in the future.

On the other hand, “I am” asserts that the desired state or outcome is already a reality, reinforcing a stronger sense of confidence and certainty. Shifting from “I can” to “I am” helps to internalize the belief, making it feel more true and immediate, which accelerates personal transformation and the overcoming of fears.

Great work, Jennifer!

Later she shared:

“I stretched my creative muscles a little bit today and made something to take with me wherever I go. Just a little reminder of which direction I want my life to go in:”

And her achievements didn’t stop there. She writes:

“Guided Mindset Mastery has been so life changing for me.🥹 I still write in my transformation journal at least once a week. Being able to see my circumstances and life change now, just because of how I’m thinking??! Honestly it seems so easy now, control your thoughts/emotions… control your life.

“It feels like a balance between taking control and yet releasing it at the same time. I’d like to share something I wrote in my journal tonight. My daughter is special needs and had major surgery in November on both legs. Yesterday she was admitted to Phoenix Children’s Hospital’s Inpatient Rehabilitation Program:

‘I am so happy and grateful that Lizzy’s Inpatient time has been both productive and calm. I’m grateful I’ve been able to kick my stressed out mindset to the curb and remain calm and focused on the outcome I want most, Lizzy getting the right amount and quality of help that she needs for the best post surgery outcome possible.

‘I’m grateful I’ve been able to be relaxed and super encouraging to Lizzy. I was sort of dreading this hospital stay, with it starting the day after Christmas, leasting for weeks, possibly up to a month. I choose to put all of those thoughts aside and just see what happens.’

“Turns out, we’ll only be here for 4 days and every effort is being made to get Lizzy’s AFO’s and wheelchair adjusted to her post surgery needs. I am still her best advocate and squeaky wheel ⚙️, but, I’m very calm and patient about it, trusting that things will fall into place as needed, so long as I remain calm and watch what happens, 💗 feeling now – how grateful I will be once she’s home and has had an amazing jump start to her recovery. 🥹

Jennifer’s Advice for Facing Fear

When asked what advice she had for someone else facing their fear, Jennifer responded with,

“Face it head on and make sure you write down all of the facts of whatever the fear involves. Facts are real, how we feel about them may not be based entirely on reality. Fear could also be excitement for the unknown. Also, fear is a choice, you can decide what feelings you want to attach to certain things, whatever they may be. Choose to be happy.”

Jennifer, thank you for sharing your journey through the Mindset Mastery course!

It is a powerful example of how faith, self-awareness, and determination can lead to profound personal transformation. From receiving small blessings to overcoming deep-seated fears, your story inspires us to face our challenges with courage and trust that God has our back, always offering us “all this or something better.”

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Leslie Householder
Latest posts by Leslie Householder (see all)

One Response

  1. I too confronted fear head on when I got stressed following the death of my sister. My blood pressure soared to 197/105 . I thought this was unbelievable considering it was the first time I was experiencing it. I whispered these words “I am terrific, strong and healthy.” Immediately I spoke these words to myself, I felt extraordinary calmness within me and breathlessness disappeared. I regained strength immediately and everything went back to normal. What was the trick? I made a choice to live. Yes, Faith in God does work.

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